How to coordinate strumming with singing ?

[deuter]

Hey there . I've been attending guitar lessons at cristofori . And my tcher teaches me how to strum songs i like . But problem is i cant strum and sing together . Its always super hard for me . Anyone help me ?
As im more to chinese songs and my tcher 's not a chinese and cant understand chinese , so its hard for him to teach me how to sing and strum . So any kind soul out there who sings and strums chinese songs willing to lend me a helping hand ? /:

 

[zaidi534]

It takes a while for me to sing and play the guitar at the same time. When first I was starting out I would whisper the lyrics while playing, and practice after practice you would get down to it on no time. Actually, it does take a little time, but you have to get used to it. You tend to find it hard especially when you start to learn different songs. But once you can still continue on playing while talking, that's when you are good enough to play the guitar while singing. To put it in a simpler term, practice makes it permenant!

 

[cryingstatue]

Hi,

what i always ask people to do is firstly to learn the song well first. meaning that you have to be able to play the song without too much effort only then can you coordinate singing and strumming because your brain cant do too unfamiliar things at once. so once you can play the chords and strum very easily then it will be easier to sing.

another tip is the other way round: memorise the lyrics and just sing it as you play its the same idea but i find playing the song well first a better option.

most importantly: go slow first nothing wrong with going slow as you can coordinate better when you are doing two things at the same time, you will hear the spaces between strums that the words will fit in.

let me know if this is helpful

 

[Brenkoh]

1) Listen and know the song by heart. (E.g. What is supposed to be sung at this particular melody?)

2) Practice singing over a minus-one track until you can sing without looking at the lyrics.

3) Play the whole song on the guitar without singing until you are very familiar with the chord progressions at the different sections(verse,chorus) of the song.

Don't rush, take your time to learn. Start with simple songs. It's like starting a new habit. It takes time.

 

[xnanas]

in conclusion of my above and above..

u should be able to play the guitar part (*of the song) very well. then u can ignore the hand changing chords and remember the place it self. this is where u got time to think for the lyrics n sing.. ihopeihelptoo

 

[SotAnLite]

Hi deuter,

I do sing and strum chinese songs (when I come across those that I like). May I know what is one chinese song that you've mastered strumming but yet to be able to song and strum at the same time?

Hey there . I've been attending guitar lessons at cristofori . And my tcher teaches me how to strum songs i like . But problem is i cant strum and sing together . Its always super hard for me . Anyone help me ?
As im more to chinese songs and my tcher 's not a chinese and cant understand chinese , so its hard for him to teach me how to sing and strum . So any kind soul out there who sings and strums chinese songs willing to lend me a helping hand ? /:

Hear from you soon, Han Yew (Peter)

 

[jeffrey0603]

I usually tap my feet to the beat. It helps me to sync my playing and singing.

 

[labound]

Basically; aim to be able to play the song at the back of your head, and this includes not needing to frequently look at your fretboard while playing as this would also help you alot when interaction is needed while performing on stage one day. Once being able to do that, slowly start to pitch the lyrics with the chords/ notes your playing. Practice makes perfect... Spend some time trying and never give up!

 

[SotAnLite]

One more trick that I can think of is to take note of the word that the chord lands on, so every time, you can be more aware that you are singing where the chord should be playing.

For example, in the key of A, for the song of "Happy Birthday" in stanza part 1 of 2:

______A_______E
Happy birthday to you
______E_______A
Happy birthday to you
______A___________D
Happy birthday, happy birthday
______A_______E
Happy birthday to you


Notice that the chord lands on the word "birth" and "you" at various points of the song. Therefore, when you are confident of the this little "hint" of when the chord lands on what word (or vice versa), you can be more confident in coordinating your strumming with your singing.

Hope this helps!

Low Han Yew (Peter)
www.lowhanyew.com

 

[omnomnomben]

a good song i used to practice this with was wonderwall by oasis (use track 5).

the strumming pattern doesn't match the lyrical melody, so it really forces you to have the strumming in your muscle memory before you can play the entire song.